1. Field of the Invention
A method and test kit for the detection of polyvalent antigens which uses at least two different combining sites on the antigen is described. In particular, novel anti-PGH synthase and anti-PGI.sub.2 synthase monoclonal antibodies and hybridoma cells for producing the antibodies are described for use in the method and test kit.
2. Prior Art
Numerous prior art methods are known for using antibodies to detect the presence of a specific antigen. In general, the antigen complexes with the antibody and the complex is separated as a precipitate from non-specified antigenic material. Either the antigen or the antibody is labeled. The presence and/or amount of the label in the precipitated antigen-antibody complex is determined. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,292,403 and 4,307,071 describe such methods.
The problem with the prior art methods is that the antibodies are usually relatively impure and produce false positive reactions. Also, a single antibody is used for binding the antigen for the detection or determination which allows for error because of the problems with impure or non-specific antibody.